AUSTIN (KXAN) — Just days before the kickoff off South By Southwest Interactive, organizers announced another high-profile panel. Edward Snowden will appear remotely to talk about privacy in the digital age.

The former federal contractor ignited a firestorm in 2013 when he released classified documents from the National Security Administration showing domestic and international spying efforts by the American government.

After releasing the documents in June, Snowden moved to Russia where he was granted asylum. He faces espionage charges in the United States.

The panel, titled the “Virtual Conversation with Edward Snowden” will take place Monday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m. Joining Snowden will be Christopher Soghoian, American Civil Liberties Union technologist. For more information about SXSW Interactive 2014, visit its website.

The discussion will focus on the impact of the NSA’s spying and the ways technology can help protect the people from mass surveillance.

Snowden is not the only electronic advocate appearing at SXSW in 2014. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will also appear during a panel by teleconference. That live conversation with The Barbarian Group’s Benjamin Palmer on Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m.

In 2006, Assange gained notoriety when he established WikiLeaks, a platform which publishes government documents in an effort to “confront corruption and publish the truth.” Since its creation, WikiLeaks has published several million documents.

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